Grants

Throughout its history, the China Medical Board has adopted a policy of not accepting unsolicited grant proposals. Thus, inquiries or unsolicited proposals may not receive an expeditious reply. The rationale is straightforward—CMB's strategic grant-making is highly focused on targeted activities to advance its mission. In its earliest phase, the China Medical Board devoted nearly all of its financing to Peking Union Medical College. Since 1950, the China Medical Board’s grant-making has been targeted at key Chinese and Asian universities. CMB encourages international groups wishing to work in China to establish relationships directly with CMB-affiliated Chinese and Asian institutions.

Description: This three-year grant supports the newly established Institute for Medical Education at the PUHSC to conduct priority research on human resources for health (HRH) in China. With CMB support, the Institute will undertake three studies in collaboration with international collaborators: (1) tracking progress in mitigating rural mal-distribution; (2) demonstrating the impact of education on actual health outcomes; and (3) comparative learning from India and other Asian countries.

Principal Investigator: XU Yan and DONG Zhe

(2013)12-120

Peking University Health Science Center

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$101,889

Project: CMB-OC: The Impacts of DRGs Payment Reform in Beijing

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This $101,889 CMB Open Competition (CMB-OC) grant in HPSS aims to evaluate the impact of Beijing’s Diagnosis-Related-Groups (DRG) payment reform on health expenditure and quality of care, and to identify barriers and pre-conditions necessary for successful implementation of DRG reform. Using hospital discharge data, inpatient claims data, and inpatient and outpatient expenditure data 2009-2014 (three years pre- and post-reform), the study applies a differences-in-differences (DID) design with propensity score matching (PSM) to evaluate the impact of reform on medical expenditure, treatment pattern, and medical service quality by comparing these outcome variables between the 6 reform hospitals and 6 control hospitals before and after the reform.
PI: JIAN Weiyan, Peking University Health Science Center

Principal Investigator: Jian Weiyan

(2013)12-119

Peking University Health Science Center

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$117,832

Project: CMB-OC: The Effect of Provider Payment Method on Reducing Cost of Delivery

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This three-year $117,832 project will provide empirical evidence on how various provider payment approaches impact demand-side subsidies for alleviating impoverishment due to costly delivery care in rural China. The study will be carried out in different counties, where different provider payment schemes are applied, using a clustered sampling framework.
PI: FENG Xinglin, Peking University Health Science Center

Principal Investigator: Feng Xinglin

(2013)12-118

Sichuan University

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$145,200

Project: CMB-OC: Improving Maternal Health Services in Rural China

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This three year project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in promoting the utilization of maternal health services and improving health outcomes of the infants and mothers across poor counties in Sichuan. The study utilizes a randomized controlled trial design, under which 35 pairs of villages matched over their characteristics from five nationally-designated poor counties in Sichuan province will be identified and, for each pair, one village will be randomly selected as treatment or control village. All women who become pregnant during the first six months of the CCTs intervention period in the treatment villages will receive a CCT payment conditional on their visits to a hospital for a prenatal check; or to deliver their baby; or for a postnatal check. The evaluation survey will be carried out in the treatment and control villages after the launch of the CCT program for eighteen months to measure the utilization of maternal health services HS and health outcomes of mothers and infants by questionnaire interview and anthropometric measurement, respectively. Using program evaluation techniques, the study will then assess the effectiveness of the intervention.
PI: ZHOU Huan, Sichuan University

Description: This $100,200 project aims to design, implement, and evaluate a non-randomized control intervention to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in childhood fever. The interventions to be carried out in 3 towns in Jiangshan County in Zhejiang province include training rural doctors to use the childhood fever guidelines, implementing economic incentive measures to discourage antibiotic use among doctors, and carrying out health education programs for patients. The impact of the intervention will be assessed in terms of the change of the knowledge about antibiotic use, the rate of antibiotic use and infusion use, and average cost per visit for childhood fever.
PI: ZHOU Xudong, Zhejiang University

Description: This three year project with a budget of $149,888 aims to carry out an observational study of the current status of the county-level pre-hospital care in Hunan province and explore the feasibility of a provincial-wide model for strengthening pre-hospital care services. Based on the observational study, standardized web-based pre-hospital care training will be developed and carried out in regional pre-hospitals centers, half of which will be randomly selected to receive in-person training. Evaluation of knowledge and critical actions performed by pre-hospital service providers, as well as some key health outcome variables, will be compared to produce suggestions for improving pre-hospital care quality.
PI: XIAO Ping, Central South University

Description: This $136,900 project aims to develop, deliver, and evaluate hospital outreach intervention for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A randomized controlled trial will be carried out, under which hospitalized COPD patients will be recruited and randomly allocated into control group or intervention group. The latter will receive hospital outreach intervention, which includes 3-month intensive intervention on pulmonary rehabilitation, medication, self-management education, as well as permanent access to a nurse who will promote patients’ treatment adherence through motivational interview and increased communication between patients and health care providers. The evaluation of the trail will be carried out by comparing patients’ self-management, health outcome, quality of life as well as health care cost between the control and treatment groups, based on which recommendations for COPD patient hospital outreach interventions will be made. The study team will develop intervention manuals and employ interviewing techniques to minimize the lack of adherence.
PI: YAN Jin, Central South University

Principal Investigator: Yan Jin

(2013)12-114

Central South University

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$109,916

Project: CMB-OC: Schizophrenia Case Management in Rural China

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This study with a budget of $109,916 is designed to compare the effects of village doctor-assisted case management (VD model) for patients with schizophrenia versus care-as-usual (CAU model) in rural China. It is expected that the VD model, when compared with the CAU model, will lead to a higher systematic treatment rate, lessened schizophrenic symptoms, better social function, lower hospitalization rate, and lower incidence of risky behavior among schizophrenia patients.
PI: GONG Wenjie, Central South University

Principal Investigator: Gong Wenjie

(2013)12-113

Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$300,000

Project: Research in Environmental Health and Non-Communicable Diseases

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This project utilizes an ongoing Dongfeng-Tongji longitudinal cohort to study the determinants of chronic diseases, especially air pollution and lifestyle factors. Launched in 2008, the cohort has developed a detailed database that incorporates demographic, lifestyle, and biochemical information of about 27,000 retired workers of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, a giant state-owned motor company. The project will assess environmental exposure, lifestyle factors, and biochemical markers to examine the association of health outcomes with air pollution and lifestyle factors.

Principal Investigator: Wu Tangchun

(2013)12-112

Institute of International Education

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$1,135,370

Project: CMB Faculty Development Awards and Next Generation Fellowships

Dates: July 01, 2012 to June 30, 2014

Region: China

Description: This two-year grant at $1,135,370 enables the Institute of International Education (IIE) to offer two more rounds of CMB mid-career Faculty Development (FD) awards and Next Generation (NG) fellowships. Thus far, CMB has supported 26 distinguished professorships, 34 faculty development awards, and 42 next generation fellows.

Principal Investigator: Keith Clemenger

(2013)12-111

Sun Yat-Sen University

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$300,000

Project: CMB-CP in Migrant Health Policy

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This three-year project supports the institutional development of the SYSU Center of Migrant Health Policy, primarily through strengthening its leadership and young faculty capacity and supporting research projects. The grant will strengthen the SYSU Migrant Health Policy team by helping to recruit 1-2 additional full-time and 3-5 part-time researchers, as well as 2-3 post-doctoral fellows with diverse backgrounds. The project also prioritizes development of young researchers through training, competition for seed grants, and development of partnerships with overseas Chinese researchers. Additionally, the grant supports a health survey among migrant workers in the Pearl Delta area, which will establish long-term research sites and provide a research basis for migrant health researchers within and beyond SYSU.
PI: LING Li, Sun Yat-sen University

Principal Investigator: Ling Li

(2013)12-110

Peking Union Medical College

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$300,000

Project: CMB-CP in Bioethics Research

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: China’s population size, large clinical infrastructure, growing demand for health products, and limited regulatory environment has led China to become the world’s largest experimental site for clinical trials and pharmaceutical market. Based in PUMC’s Bioethics Center, this project proposes to fill in the cognitive, moral and regulatory gaps in bioethics and strengthen capacity of researchers, ethical committee members, faculty, biomedical editors and policy makers through workshops, symposiums and exchange programs. It will provide 120 stakeholders with bioethics training through three workshops, and train another 120 potential trainers through three international symposiums. The Center will send six graduate students and 2 key faculties to the University of Pennsylvania and NIH for 6-12 month trainings. The Center has been deeply involved in developing national guidelines and regulations as related to bioethics and will continue to engage actively to assist policy making.
PI: ZHAI Xiaomei, Peking Union Medical College

Principal Investigator: Zhai Xiaomei, Qiu Renzong

(2013)12-109

Peking University Health Science Center

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$300,000

Project: CMB-CP Lab in Health Economics

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This project will create a PKU-CMB Lab for Health Economics (LHE), which will produce rigorous economic research for better health policymaking and help train the next generation of Chinese health economists. In policy-related research, the LHE will focus on research related to the national priorities as indicated in the 12th five-year Health Reform Plan, specifically: the universal insurance system, national drug policy, and public hospital reform. The LHE will also produce a cadre of young Chinese health economists by providing researchers with access to high-quality data, new research opportunities, and mentorship from Chinese and international researchers.
PI: LIU Guo’en (Gordon), Peking University Health Science Center

Principal Investigator: Liu Guo'en

(2013)12-108

Zhejiang University

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$300,000

Project: CMB-CP in Non-Communicable Diseases

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This project assembles a multidisciplinary team of biomedical scientists, epidemiologists, and health economists to address modifiable risk factors associated with obsesity-related chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Two long-term cohorts, in rural and urban communities, of approximately 10,000 people will be established to generate research data, implement intervention, and also serve as school's public health community training sites. The project builds on a previous grant to PI Zhu Shankuan at Zhejiang University for obesity research (10-014).
PI: ZHU Shankuan, Zhejiang University

Principal Investigator: Zhu Shankuan

(2013)12-107

Peking Union Medical College

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$450,000

Project: CMB-CP in Burden of Diseases in China

Dates: July 01, 2012 to June 30, 2015

Region: China

Description: This project creates a China Burden of Disease Research and Dissemination Center (CBDRDC) based at Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) in collaboration with the University of Washington and Queensland University. The Center will monitor the changing burden of disease to support critical evidence-based policymaking. The CMB-CP will consolidate four functionary platforms of resource sharing (through developing and sharing instruments, methodologies, database and dissemination via distance education), policy dialogue (through holding seminars), research (of disease and region specific studies) and capacity building (through developing training courses and educating post-docs).
PI: YANG Gonghuan, Peking Union Medical College

Principal Investigator: Yang Gonghuan & Wan Xia

(2013)12-106

Sichuan University

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$700,000

Project: Western China Center for Rural Health Development

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: This grant supplements an earlier commitment (09-983) to Sichuan University in developing a center that focuses on studying health challenges and policy of rural China. It supports development capacity of a cohort of next generation researchers in the field of Health Policy and System Sciences (HPSS) through training and landscaping research.

Principal Investigator: Li Hong

(2013)12-105

Peking Union Medical College

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$35,000

Project: Second China-U.S. Health Summit

Dates: October 01, 2012 to June 30, 2013

Region: China

Description: This project supported attendance by Chinese representatives, including healthcare policymakers and professionals, to the Second China-U.S. Health Summit co-hosted by Harvard School of Public Health, Peking Union Medical College, and Tsinghua School of Public Policy and Management. The summit aims to offer a high-level platform to facilitate communication and cooperation between the two countries. The theme of the summit, which had 800 over attendees, was "Healthcare Reforms: The Roles of Government, Market and Professionalism."

Principal Investigator: Zeng Yixn

(2012)12-104

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Health Policy and Systems Sciences

$884,228

Project: HPSS Masters Training

Dates: July 01, 2012 to June 30, 2014

Region: China

Description: This grant supports high quality masters-level training at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in HPSS-related subjects for up to 14 young faculty and the brightest undergraduate and master's graduates of CMB-supported institutions.

Principal Investigator: Anne Mills

(2012)12-103

Peking Union Medical College

$173,400

Project: Strengthening Grant Management in CMB Universities

Dates: January 01, 2013 to December 31, 2015

Region: China

Description: The three-year grant budgeted at $173,400 supports two training workshops that will bring together liaison officers of CMB’s grantee schools and CMB staff to work together for improving CMB’s work in China.

Principal Investigator: Jiang Yuhong

(2012)12-102

Mahidol University

Southeast Asia

$434,560

Project: Myanmar Regional Fellowship for Faculty Development

Dates: July 01, 2012 to June 30, 2017

Region: Southeast Asia

Description: The five-year project will support master degree training of 15 Myanmar faculty members in biomedical sciences and public health through fully funded fellowships at Mahidol University, Thailand.

Principal Investigator:

(2012)12-101

Prince of Songkla University

Southeast Asia

$268,740

Project: PhD Training in Community Epidemiology of Chinese Faculty

Dates: July 01, 2012 to June 30, 2016

Region: Southeast Asia

Description: This four-year project at $268,740 will provide opportunities for faculties from selected schools of the rural network to pursue PhD studies in epidemiology in relation to rural health policy and systems.

Description: This six-month grant of $144,000 will support up to 100 young Chinese and 4 special Myanmar scholars to attend the 2nd Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR) in Beijing from October 31 to November 3, 2012.